


Idle Games

by emissaryarchitect



Category: Ava's Demon
Genre: F/M, its just 1 am and i am very tired, there wasn't a prompt or anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-05 21:49:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6724906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emissaryarchitect/pseuds/emissaryarchitect
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ava and Odin play a game.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Idle Games

**Author's Note:**

> typed this in one sitting, its 1 am and I'm tired as heckie, it's all just streamline thoughts

It ended up that being the major villain of a powerful empire really didn’t pay well.

Ava and her “gang” of villains were currently bedding down in a single, tiny hotel room – the twins took one bed while Maggie took the other one, Gil took the couch, and Ava and Odin had chosen to sleep on the floor.

Odin wasn’t doing it to be valorous or noble, but he really didn’t like the idea of bedbugs, and the softness of the mattress would have kept him up all night. He preferred the floor, where it was easy to leap up or roll underneath something in need of cover.

Ava slept on the floor because she was too polite to ask for the bed.

She was tucked in the fetal position on the floor, curled in on herself like a mouse. However, from her breathing and constant shift of position, it was obvious to Odin that his floormate had yet to actually fall asleep.

He sat up, rubbing his head irritably. “Can’t sleep?”

Ava rolled over onto her stomach, resting her arms underneath her chin. “I couldn’t if I wanted to. There’s too much on my mind.” Odin could understand that, vaguely – he wasn’t planning on getting anymore involved in her situation than he had to be, and from the looks of it Ava was in serious trouble. Luckily, he had yet to get in on that trouble himself – he might have been a degenerate, but he had never gotten on the bad side of TiTAN, the side where you had to spend the rest of your life with one eye open.

It seemed Ava had not only gotten onto the bad side of TiTAN, but slugged him in the jaw while she was at it.

Her half lidded eye’s cast crescent yellow glowing across the old rug, her blinking lethargic enough to show her exhaustion. Her nails bit into her arms where she squeezed them too tight, and her brows were knit with stress.

“J-Just focus on sl-sleeping,” he suggested lightly, trying not to think about it too hard; she scowled at him sharply, and he couldn’t help but notice her sharp teeth.

“Easy for you to say, you don’t have a TiTAN shaped target on your forehead.”

“W-Well,” he replied snidely “it’s almost l-like you sl-slaughtered a whole assembly of T-TiTAN followers.” Her expression flickered into one he knew far too well – anger and frustration aimed at oneself; self-loathing. He wished he didn’t feel sympathetic to her, wished that he didn’t still see a confused girl in over her head, but he couldn’t help it.

He laid back down and sighed. “L-Listen, I t-told you – I can g-get you as f-far as the rim planets before I h-have to go back h-home.”

“I know,” she replied softly.

“I c-can’t do anymore th-than that.”

“You could,” she said aloud in that same soft, understanding tone “but you would risk getting in trouble, and you want to stay out of TiTAN space. That’s understandable. You’ve done a lot for me already.”

She sounded so _thankful_ that he grit his teeth. The girl only had the clothes on her back and he knew she was a pactmaker, knew that she had a mission, knew it was none of his business even if his boss was looking for cursed people – but he still felt like relenting. In some situations, his dad had told him a long time ago, there’s no good or bad. Ever since that conversation he had lived on the neutral borderline, trying to make his way through life without stepping on any feet and avoiding making enemies as well as allies – helping Ava would not be a good thing.

It would be trouble.

Ava sighed a little and closed her eyes tightly, as though she was suffering from some sharp pain or ache, and he finally gave in. He wouldn’t be her hero, but the least he could do was ease this.

She got a demon stapled to her like he did, right? She didn’t deserve any of this, she was too young for this. He didn’t care that Maggie had a pact, hers wasn’t burning her alive from the inside out.

From the way she shuddered, every breath Ava took was like fire.

“H-Hey,” he whispered “would you l-like to pl-play a game?”

Ava looked up curiously, her mouth corkscrewed in suspicion as she replied cautiously “What kind of game?”

“W-Well,” he rolled onto his stomach to face her – she was uncomfortably close, but at least he could whisper a little quieter “we g-go through the alphabet n-naming off our f-favorite things from the l-letter we’re on.”

She shrugged. It sounded like an innocent enough game.

“I-I’ll start. Apples.”

“Books,” she replied.

“C-Cats.”

“Hmm,” she tapped her finger on her elbow “dandelions?”

“N-Nice. I g-guess… elk?”

“Do you have elk on your planet?” she asked suddenly, her face alight with wonder, spots of light seeping through her skin.

“Y-Yeah, and d-deer. We’re a p-pretty wild pl-planet.”

She smiled, more to herself than anything, before continuing “Flowers.”

“You al-already said d-dandelions,” he pointed out, and she pouted.

“I like _all_ flowers. They’re better than people.” Odin didn’t respond, waiting for a continuation and she obliged. “Flowers can be tattered or freckled or weird looking, but they can all still live in the same garden. People can’t do that.”

“I gu-guess they can’t,” he replied with a tired nod. “G-Guns.”

“Happiness.”

He didn’t argue. “I-Icecream.”

“Does jell-o count?” He nodded and she repeated “Jell-o.”

“K-Keys.” For some reason that word made her go stiff and it took her a moment to relax again. “Wh-What’s up with you and k-keys, huh? G-Got a grudge m-match with a l-lockpick?”

She worried her lower lip between her teeth. “You know that giant axe I had?”

The memory of her standing above Six’s carcass like a golden lord, wielding her weapon above her victoriously flashed through his mind. “Y-yeah.”

“It’s, uh… it’s a key.”

“M-Must be one h-hell of a l-lock it goes to,” he remarked, and he finally managed to get a small giggle from her.

“Where was I?”

“L.”

“Love,” she replied dreamily. She was such a _girl_ , it was incredible that she could be a killer one minute and so human the next. Just because she was possessed by the vengeful spirit of an ex-empress didn’t mean she didn’t have fantasies about a normal life. Hell, that was probably all she _had_ fantasies about.

“The M-Moon,” he continued after a moment.

“Which one?” she laughed, and he remembered all the many planets and moons that filled up the galaxy and indulged in a little laugh too. “Nighttime.”

“O-Oracles.” She cocked her head. “W-Well – just the w-word. From th-the roots, it means t-to s-speak in gold. I always th-thought that was interesting.” She smiled again – how many times had he seen her smile in such a short conversation? More than when he had been with her for several hours from Gil’s planet to TiTAN HQ.

“Poppies,” she suddenly blurted in excitement. “They – they’re my favorite flower.”

“Really?” He asked incredulously. “Th-The flower that h-happens to r-represent-” she reached out and slapped his shoulder good naturedly, and he cracked another smile. “I w-was gonna say d-dreams.”

“Yeah, right. Anyway, Q?”

“Q-Quail, they’re a f-favorite m-meal of mine.”

“Rabbits!”

“F-Favorite meal?” he teased.

“No!” she interjected in disgust before lowering her voice – Maggie rolled over in her bed at the noise “I love rabbits; I would never eat them!”

“F-Fair enough – st-stairs. My h-house has stairs.” She sat, thinking for a moment. “C-Can’t think of anything you l-like beginning with T? Th-That means I w-win, you know.”

“TiTAN’s head on a pike,” she replied, and her voice was little more than a growl, her eyes going bright with fire raging in her skull. Odin had the urge to back away but wasn’t about to play the part of the fearful roommate, so he settled with swallowing hard.

“Uh… Utensils.”

Her serious expression went lax with amusement. “Sh-Shut up, you g-get _V_.”

“Violets,” she replied smugly.

“Sh-Should’ve guessed,” he put a hand to his forehead, his chin almost resting on the carpet “W-Wolves.” Her face pinched as she tried to go through words beginning with X, and he was certain he had won the game.

“Xenomorphs.”

“Wh-What the hell is a X- _Xenomorph_?”

“That fake species on those old Alien movies,” she replied, and he snorted.

“Th-Those are r- _really_ old.”

“They’re classics! And you’re just buying time because you can’t think of a Y word!”

“Y-Yodeling,” he finally said aloud. “Wh-What, you never know, I m-might be a v- _very_ good yodeler. Wh-What about Z?”

“Zombies. I used to watch classic zombie movies all the time.”

“Wh-What is with you and w-weird old scary m-movies,” he said aloud in exasperation. “It’s almost l-like you l-lived _on_ Old Earth.”

“Har har,” she mock laughed “says the guy who _yodels_?”

“…shit,” he replied mock dramatically “sh-she’s got me pegged.” Ava laid back down on her back and Odin did the same, but they could still hear one another just fine. “H-Hey, Ava?”

“Hmn?”

“…It’s n-not my b-business to know, but I’m c-curious.” When she didn’t try to talk him down or give an excuse about being tired, he asked “Wh-What’s with you and T-TiTAN?”

“He’s an asshole.”

“Ev-Everyone and their c-cat knows that,” he rolled his eyes sarcastically even though she couldn’t see it “but th-that doesn’t m-mean everyone goes at arms and t-tries to mob him. Why d-did you?”

“Well maybe because I’m the first one who can, huh? Ever thought of that?” The pieces didn’t match up – the Ava he saw fighting the Strategos wasn’t weighed down by justice, that was a creature alight with rage and wrath, enough that every movement made the world shudder, every word drowned the air with fire. That wasn’t justice – that was revenge.

Now the question was, what did TiTAN do to her to warrant this kind of anger?

“J-Just curious,” he muttered, and Ava didn’t reply, probably trying to sleep. After a while he finally drifted off to sleep, thoughts of old movies and flowers filling his mind.

>>>> 

“We don’t have the money for all of us to make the next transit,” Gil explained as delicately as he could, thin blue fingers intertwining with anxiety. “We’ll have to make some money _here_ , somehow…”

“In this dump?” Maggie breathed, looking around – it was true, the walkways were clogged with glitter and confetti, people making out in the corners and gamblers at every turn – this was a party city and Odin had no desire of staying here. The only way they would get funds here was either by gambling or selling themselves, and Odin wasn’t privy to either.

Ava nudged Crow. “Let me borrow your knife.”

“And why, _exactly_ , should I do that?” Ava’s eyes went white-gold as she glared and the bird didn’t argue, handing over the slim metal. Ava walked over to a nearby table where a few people drunk on money sat, surrounded by stacks of credits and people to guard them from anyone with nimble fingers.

Ava smiled sweetly, and Odin shivered – something in his gut told him there was a predator nearby and that he should be running, but he swallowed instinct and watched her along with the rest of the group.

She sat across from the money-drunk man, smiling lazily. “Hey there – couldn’t help but notice you’ve been mighty profitable in this city.”

“You’re _not_ getting any,” the man laughed boisterously, as though ready to humiliate her, but Ava brushed it off. Those who knew her noticed how her skin seemed to go leathery and bright.

“Of course not, but I couldn’t help but ask if you’d like to play a little _game_ with me,” she swung the knife in her hand. “I mean, from the looks of it you’re awfully good at tricky gambles.”

The man sat forward, interested in the bait. “You’re right sweetheart, I’m the best gambler in this whole city!”

“The rules are simple,” she explained, lifting a stack of credits onto the table and placing it on her left hand “you try and get as many credits on the knife as possible.”

“How?”

She stabbed the knife down onto the stack and the man went rigid as she pulled it up, showing it had ripped through about a dozen credits and were impaled on the blade but didn’t stab her hand. She smiled smugly and picked them off, setting them beside her and sliding the knife as well as the stack of money over to the man. “Of course, this game is only for the most experienced of gamblers, only the ones who can hold their own – if you’re not interested-”

The man scowled and did the same as she did, but he flinched and didn’t get nearly as many credits as she did. “There, it’s not so hard! Just gotta get used to the knife!”

They went back and forth until only a few credits remained, but the bills were hundreds instead of fifties – the man chuckled haughtily. “Looks like your luck has run out, girlie!”

“On the contrary,” she replied venomously, and stabbed down, straight through the bills _and_ her hand. Blood pooled under her palm and she yanked the knife out as the man stared, bewildered. “Awh, don’t you know you have to go through a little pain to make a profit? Thanks for the game,” she bid, taking the money she had stabbed and walking back to her group. She handed the significant stack to Odin and wiped the knife off on her dress before giving it back to Crow.

“Holy. Shit.” Raven breathed. “That was really badass.”

“Not really,” Ava replied doggedly, rubbing her hand – it had already healed. “We have enough for the transit now. Let’s go – this place reeks.”

Odin couldn’t agree more.

>>> 

Odin watched Ava from the corner of his eye. He couldn’t deny that how she got the money was pretty cool, but it was also desperate and clumsy – her desperation gave way for room for pain, and that was rubbing him the wrong way. Before, it might have not done so, but now he had played the word game with her and learned her favorite flowers and movies. She had become a whole person and it was getting on his nerves.

Finally, he had leaned over and said “N-Next time, we c-can find a d-different way to g-get funds, alright?”

“Why? My method worked well enough.”

“Yeah, b-but I’d prefer not to h-have to see your h-hand get stabbed? Th-That was damn sp-spooky.”

Ava smiled a little, but it was faint and hollow, like a ghost of an expression.

She looked so tired.

He wondered if she actually slept the night before or just acted like it, and in that moment he remembers that he’s supposed to drop her off at the next stop so that she can be transported to the sparse rim planets.

The rim planets, who’s colonies are tight knit and a step below cultish, the rim planet’s who’s water supplies are always contaminated, the rim planet’s who’s population is desolate and angry all the time, the rim planet’s who have tales of people eating the gel they use to put cheap buildings together like madmen – after a moment, he found himself talking without thinking about it.

“Y-You know, the r-rim planets are g-good for h-hiding but nothing else.” Ava looked up at him, curious and listening attentively “and my offer ab-about my pl-planet still stands.”

Her eyes went wide, showing sparks in her pupils. “Wha-? Really?”

“Y-Yeah, but if y-you’re-”

“Yes! I mean, I’d really rather go with you.” For some reason, that sentence filled up his breast with pride, swelling beneath his ribs in a pleasant way. She would prefer going with him than somewhere she knew she could disappear – was she his friend? He would like to say so, but by the way she still sat feet away from him on the seats of the transit he could only figure they were close acquaintances at best.

That was fine. It would be better if they didn’t get too close anyway.

“Hey, do you want to play that alphabet game again?”

If they weren’t too close _already_.

 


End file.
